. >> more than 35 states have felt the power of the storm since it first hit california sunday. it's now blamed for at least 12 deaths, along with the snow it caused more than 40 tornadoes in the deep south, starting on christmas day, and this morning, northern areas of pennsylvania new york and new england have one to two feet of snow on the ground. nearly 500,000 utility customers have lost power. melina shop row is in new york. >> reporter: as the snow continues to fall authorities are urging motorists stay off of the roads. with about a foot of snow already on the ground we're seeing how big and powerful this snowstorm has been. from california to new york the fast-moving storm system that began over the weekend completed its cross-country trek in the northeast, enveloping state after state and heavy snow. >> that's pretty rough. the wet snow it's heavy, you know, just kind of been trying to move what we can. >> reporter: with wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour blizzard warnings were issued in indiana, illinois and ohio whiteout conditions made the car ride home for the holi